Pictures of You stands out among the sea of webcomics out there, and that is saying something. With so much variety on the 'tubes, it takes a special kind of story to suck people in so much that they feel part of it themselves and really connect to its characters. We felt for them, admonished some, vigorously defended others, guessed at motives, sat slack-jawed before unexpected developments... the gamut is as broad as it is varied.

How many other webcomics have that sort of impact? I can sit there and read Ctrl Alt Del, Questionable Content, Oglaf, Penny Arcade, Junior Scientist Power Hour, et al and think "Well, that was a fun/cute/interesting page," but nothing comes near PoY (except perhaps Order of the Stick, but that's just the DnD nerd in me talkin') in terms of the commitment I feel to the story. I simply MUST read each page. I see characters reflecting aspects of both myself and people I know in real life.

What you've achieved here is fantastic, Gibson. This last book took a lot out of you, that much is clear, but I feel that what it took turned into something not only entertaining, but also revealing and educational. Everyone who reads it takes something from it. We can relate to this, and that, more than anything, is why we keep coming back for more.

Peter and Michelle will eventually hook up, which Christo will interpret as some kind of betrayal from both of them and lose his shit, recalling this very moment of friendly "patching up" with Michelle as a waste of his time... "You only pushed me to make nice with her to make it easier for you to make your play" sort of thing.

OK, maybe I'm being overly dramatic here. I'm usually very optimistic about things, I swear!

@Andy: I noticed that, too, but in the end, does it really matter who is being called on what? One of them is gonna have to extend that olive branch at some point.

The sad part is that due to Michelle and Christo's individual snarkiness as a defense mechanism, whomever decides to that that first step is gonna have to go through that bubble. If it happens at all, hopefully they'll be able to work through it and be civil.

In French-Canadian (at least in Québec, don't know about elsewhere), we use a "franglais" (or "Frenglish", a combination of French and English) verb, namely "choker". It's pronounced "chokay" and is basically the English verb "to choke" conjugated as a French verb, hence the -er ending, its infinitive form.

Ex. "Paul devait nous rejoindre au bar, mais il a choké." ("Paul was supposed to meet us at the bar, but he choked.")

In a way, it's very similar to (and may very well have stemmed from) the American expression "to choke" when used to convey that someone failed to perform successfully at a crucial moment, e.g. at a sporting event or competition.

Still hoping for some continuance on the convo between Peter and Michelle in that bar before Sammy lost his shit. I don't think much is gonna happen with the sister here. For all we know, she might already be in a relationship or have no romantic interest in Peter at all.

@outersquid: I wanted to address your views on misogyny/misandry, as your comments caused my eyebrows to rise, but a webcomic's comment section is not the proper forum for this. If you wish to discuss this further, we could exchange e-mails.

Finally, Sam. Friggin' finally, you tell your girlfriend what's really on your mind. Good for you, though you actually had me believing it was mostly about Rick's attitude. I guess I still have some egg on my face.

@xenocide: If you think Twist is ignoring his readers, I believe you are deeply mistaken. I think he's painfully aware of all of us and what we write, and in spite of this is staying the course with regard to his vision. This isn't a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' book here, and claiming that the majority of us readers want the story to go a certain way and he is deliberately ignoring us strikes me as very odd. There is no failure here. This is not a collaborative effort.

As for how this comic should be more "fair", I ask you this: is life fair? Hells no. Life is hard and filled with moments like what we're seeing here. In fact, this entire webcomic is possibly the 'realest' thing I've ever read, and the fact that it made me react on a personal level on many occasions is a testament to Twist's skill at not only creating a believable world full of believable people, but also at challenging our views and making us think. Lord knows I've done plenty of that since I found his work.